Why eating insects is good for human health and the future of the earth?

August 18, 2019 / BIOON / - do you worry about the idea of eating insects? Think about this: the United Nations predicts that if current trends continue, the world population will reach 9.8 billion by 2050 As a result, global demand for food and feed is expected to grow by 70%, putting additional pressure on already over exploited agricultural resources Due to rapid urbanization and economic growth, the global demand for meat will continue to grow as the dietary habits of developing countries change The oceans have been over exploited, and climate change will have a profound impact on food production At the same time, nearly one billion people around the world have long suffered from food shortages Photo source: https://cn.bing.com one of the possible solutions has quietly entered the public's attention: eating insects Animal protein substitutes need to be reconsidered in the agricultural food sector in order to meet current and future food challenges We need to find new ways to grow food, solve the problem of inefficiency, and develop new production methods In addition to population growth, urbanization and the rise of the middle class in developing countries are also increasing global demand for food, especially animal protein It is necessary to reduce the production of traditional feed ingredients such as grains, fish meal and oilseeds, and to find alternatives in order to make more effective use of resources Billions of animals are raised as food every year, putting increasing pressure on land and water resources, and causing climate change and other negative environmental impacts Livestock production has brought great pressure on the use of land and water resources around the world At present, most of the protein used in livestock feed comes from sometimes unsustainable and environmentally harmful sources In order to meet the great challenge of food security in the future, it is necessary to find an alternative and sustainable protein source for human direct consumption and animal feed Insect protein is a possible solution Insects, especially maggots, have many characteristics that make them well adapted to animal feed Insects, for example, have become a natural source of food for pigs, poultry and many fish In addition, insect larvae usually have high protein content and are rich in fat, minerals, vitamins and other beneficial nutrients Photo source: https://cn.bing.com as a protein source for direct human consumption, insects have several advantages over traditional meat sources Their feed conversion rate is significantly higher than that of other livestock, which means that they can more effectively convert ingredients in feed into nutrients In addition, insect production is more environmentally friendly than traditional livestock production Each kilogram of insect meat releases much less greenhouse gases and ammonia into the atmosphere than cattle or pigs Larva recycling, especially insect larvae, is an effective consumer of various organic materials They have the ability to "over cycle" relatively low-quality organic residues as valuable raw materials for proteins and lipids Although the direct consumption of insects by human beings is not common in western countries, the transformation of organic waste by raising insects provides an interesting opportunity for animals to produce food materials In particular, the nutritional composition of black soldier fly larva makes it a potential ingredient, which can replace the traditional food ingredients for human consumption In the past decades, the cultivation of insects that are specially used to raise livestock and fish has been the subject of sporadic evaluation However, the widespread adoption and commercialization of these methods are still difficult These methods are still hand-made, mainly developed and used in emerging countries with limited resources Photo source: https://cn.bing.com however, the comprehensive effect of various factors has aroused people's interest in this field, especially in the field of agricultural food of some multinational companies New municipal laws and regulations restricting the treatment of organic waste, as well as the need to find sustainable ingredients for animal feed, have revived interest in insects and enabled them to convert organic waste into valuable food resources Reference: [1] Eating insects is good for you and the planet, researchers insist [2] How to Feed the World in 2050